What kind of soil is rare earth?

As early as 1992, Deng Xiaoping mentioned during his southern tour: "There is oil in the Middle East, and China has rare earths", which shows the status of China's rare earth resources. Most people who don't know much about rare earths may wonder how rare earths have become a strategic resource comparable to oil.

What are rare earths?

Rare earth is the general name of 17 metal elements in the periodic table of lanthanides and scandium and yttrium, which are extremely precious not only because of small reserves, non-renewable, difficult to purify and process, but also because they are widely used in agriculture, industry, military and other industries, and are the key resources for the manufacture of new materials and the development of national defense technology, known as "universal soil" and "industrial gold".